


Four Minutes for the Truth

by VaellintheBard



Category: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Character Turned Into a Ghost, Ghost Trick Spoilers, Rewind - Freeform, Saving lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-10-24 03:36:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17696906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VaellintheBard/pseuds/VaellintheBard
Summary: Every bit of his troubles could be traced back to the day he met that midnight feline.After a series of odd events, Edgeworth temporarily takes in a cat. Things just get weirder as he ends up in danger again, narrowly escaping death. That is, until he doesn't and wakes up to find himself a ghost staring at his own body. His new cat seems to be the only one with the ability to stop this from happening.(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GHOST TRICK. CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH)





	1. Series of Bad Luck

Miles Edgeworth wasn't someone who put a lot of stock into superstitions. Such wives' tales were little more than rushed conclusions, formed without thinking through all possibilities and simply coming up with the most convenient explanation. Or at least most convenient for the people concluding things, less so for many victims of the conclusions. With all that said, the prosecutor was coming very close to believing that black cats were bad luck. After all, every bit of his troubles could be traced back to the day he met that midnight feline.

The first time was almost a month prior. He'd been on his way home from a brief walk with Pess when a loud gunshot sounded from they alley beside him. Turning to see what happened, shocked more than a little by the noise, Edgeworth witness two men gun down another. The victim's back was turned to him, but the two gunners were in plain sight from the alley entrance. One was surprisingly dressed to the nines, blonde hair styled and spiked out under a fedora with shades covering part of his face. The other wore over-sized clothes that hung off him to make him larger, but enough muscle was defined under the loose garbs to make him imposing. His face was tanned and scarred and his beard had grown fully but without proper care.

Then they saw him as well and his brain started into overdrive. He made to run but instead found himself somehow tangled up in Pess' leash. The mutt must've dashed around him while he was distracted. Instead of going forward, however, this resulted in him tumbling backwards and into a trashcan behind him.

The trash receptacle was chained to the building--a French cafe he'd visited once before--but it managed to tilt over enough to spill a couple of used bottles of perfume, the scent overwhelmingly powerful but not nearly as repulsive as actual garbage. The prosecutor was tugging himself out of the leash as quickly as he could when he heard one of the men--the blonde fashionable one--scream in pain as he fell backwards into his partner, effectively stalling the two.

Edgeworth tried to stand up, another loud noise distracted him, this time from the other side of the alley entrance. The Tres Bien sign clattered to the ground, perched against the wall in a slant. The trashcan next to him rolled without provocation after that, striking his crouched form and knocking him back against the wall. This was a small fortune as the disheveled man stepped out of the alley, gun held at waist height, and he managed to glance over both ways without seeing Edgeworth.

Noticing the fallen sign, he gestured back to his partner who hobbled out, limping in pain from a glass shard in his foot. "The guy must've gone this way," the darker man indicated with a nudge of his head. "Knocked the sign down in his panic or something." And the two were off.

Once they rounded a corner, Edgeworth wasted no time in calling Gumshoe. "Detective," he snapped, interrupting the man's greeting. "Two suspects seen taking down past Third Avenue and Wilson. Blonde in a three piece black suit and a dark haired man with a beard and dressed in an oversized red and white sweatshirt. They just shot a man in the alley next to Tres Bien and they're armed." He hung up the phone without waiting for a response, slipping into the alley to check on the man.

He didn't know the victim. The man looked like a simple business man, average in every sense of the word for a thirty-something individual. Three holes in his chest told a story that was anything but simple. Fingers to his neck found no pulse, but a slowly dying temperature.

The whole incident had to have taken less than five minutes, but it was taking Edgeworth even longer to sort all his thoughts out. Pess had stepped into the path, looking for her owner after having broken free of the leash when the guns went off. Deciding to wait for Gumshoe, he strolled over to Pess and reattached her leash.

That was when the cat stuck its head out of the trashcan, big yellow eyes seeming to stare at him with years of wisdom. It jumped out and landed next to Edgeworth and Pess' feet before starting to groom itself. Curious, Edgeworth knelt down, letting the feline sniff his hand before he ran it over the cat's fur once and then tugged at the red scarf around its neck. A collar underneath had a name-- "Sissel"-- and a phone number.

"Lost your owner, Sissel?" Edgeworth asked the cat, who meowed in response. He picked the black creature up and glanced nervously back at the alley, hoping the cat and the man were not related.

When Gumshoe arrived, he had the well-dressed man in tow. The detective recited off a string of events that sounded as bizarre as Edgeworth's own circumstances, but the end result was that only one murderer had been caught. Well, that'd do for now. He planned to drop Pess off at his house and then make a run to the station to get a sketch artist to make an portfolio of the missing culprit.

Somehow he managed to get all the way home before remembering Sissel, who had followed along behind him at a brisk walk. Just as well. Edgeworth let the small beast in, looking around for something suitable to feed it before settling on scrambled eggs with a bit of ham. On his way back to the precinct, he tried Sissel's phone number only to get a disconnected message. Nevertheless, he dialed the number three more times before finally meeting with the sketch artist.

*

The second incident had been significantly less dramatic but still incredibly unlucky. Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey had stopped by to visit unannounced, much to the prosecutor's chagrin. The lawyer's assistant, however, came bearing the latest Steel Samurai movie--given to them early due to their friendship with the lead actor who had reprised his role for the film. Phoenix had a few bottles of wine he wanted to try out. Edgeworth pretended to cave to the alcohol but the expressions on his two unexpected guests said they knew otherwise.

An hour later, Maya had Phoenix watching the last few episodes of the Pink Princess that he'd managed to avoid seeing until then because "it's absolutely important for the movie, Nick!" Edgeworth listened to the sounds of the heroine saving the day while cooking dinner for the group. He'd somehow been roped into making Maya some burgers "Edgeworth-style." He didn't know what that meant, but figured he could do something with the concept. Three patties were cooking on the stove with Pess begging at his feet as per usual. Sissel had chosen a stool at the island counter, staring at Miles with those too-wise eyes.

"Hey! Mr. Edgeworth! How looks to cooking?" Maya asked. "Because I'm starving!" She glanced at the stove and frowned. "I hope that's not all you're making."

"Of course not. I have the ingredients to put together a salad on the side."

"Salad? Blech, just make more burgers." Maya puffed her cheeks out. A meow to the side drew her attention and she squeaked. "Mr. Edgeworth! When did you get a cat?" She made a high pitched noise as she scooped Sissel up and spun him around. "What's your name? You're clearly something fierce like Samurai or Princess."

"Sissel and he's not mine. He's lost and I'm trying to get ahold of his owners. I'm simply watching over him until then." Edgeworth studied the cat carefully in case the spirit channeller cause him any undue stress. He'd contacted his vet who helped him get a found notification on the cat to other offices and had even managed to find the source of the phone number. Several cities south and a few hours drive, but the owners had apparently moved according to the apartment complex's landlord. Where to? No one knew.

"Well then, Sissie, you want to watch the Pink Princess with us?" Maya inquired, hugging the black cat close. She trotted out of the room, requests for more food forgotten in favor of the new creature. From the kitchen he could hear the woman enthusiastically introduce Sissel as Edgeworth's cat to Phoenix.

Sighing, Edgeworth turned to the dog at his feet. "She comes up with her own conclusions. I've long stopped trying to figure her out."

Another half hour had him bringing the food out, generously providing a second open face burger for the legal aide while settling Wright down with a small plate at the coffee table. Sissel darted from Maya's grip the moment she went for her food, launching himself to the back of the couch. Maya had chosen the floor for some obscure reason, putting two layers of distance between her and the cat.

Wright scrunched his face up similarly to his assistant at the sight of the vegetables and Miles smirked at the expression. "Eating healthy seems to almost be repellant to you two. Perhaps next time you come over uninvited I'll simply prepare grilled asparagus with liver."

"Ugh, that sounds like something you'd do," the attorney grumbled. 

Edgeworth merely chuckled in response. He set his own plate down, before changing direction to get the glasses he'd prepared for the meal. However, Sissel seemed to take issue with this plan, bolting off the back of the couch to and in front of the prosecutor. Unused to the antics of a cat, Miles found himself stumbling forward before tripping entirely and toppling sideways. All he could do was let out a startled noise before he ended up collapsed on the couch, sideways, groaning into the k cushions with the laughter of his two intruders against his back and legs.

Attempting to sit up was a chore as well, since he'd literally half landed on Wright and every movement pushed him more awkwardly into Phoenix's lap or against the back of Maya's head. Neither seemed inclined to help either; both laughing too hard at the incident that really didn't warrant as much humor as they partook in.

Blasted cat.

*

The third incident was the most nerve wracking. He'd been woken from his sleep by Pess launching herself off of his bed. The big furry monstrosity began to pace the bedroom door nervously, bringing Edgeworth to follow in a sleepy state. Figuring she needed outside for a moment, he rubbed his eyes blearily and just followed the worried animal as she trotted down the hallway. It wasn't until she stopped, haunches up and growling quietly that he realized something was very very wrong.

The prosecutor crouched, his pulse pounding as he tried to listen to what had upset his dog. Sissel's eyes shined in the night's low light from his side so he knew it wasn't the cat. Several quiet moments allowed him to hear the very subtle creak of a footstep on hardwood floor. Edgeworth shivered. Someone was in his house.

Kay Faraday had intruded more than once, so it wasn't as if it was a novel concept, but Pess liked the Great Thief. This was clearly not her.

Another footstep and Pess launched herself forward, determined to protect her master from whatever enemy had stepped into their territory. A loud crash of something glass falling followed by a gunshot had Edgeworth running for his furry guard before common sense stopped him. He was around the corner, Pess laying under a broken vase and covered in water. At a glance he couldn't see any blood, but he was only spared a glance before the intruder yelled and a black figure jumped passed him and onto the man's face.

Apparently, Edgeworth had a guard cat as well.

The cat, unfortunately, was easily tossed aside and Edgeworth only had a moment to act as he made for the man's gun, trying to wrestle the weapon aside and out of his opponent's grip. The intruder fought back, but with Edgeworth putting his full weight onto one arm, it was difficult. Shaking as he finally pinned the arm down, Miles realized both were effectively stuck and there was no phone in reach.

A fist slammed into his back, the criminal deciding he'd attack the prosecutor another way and Edgeworth grunted in pain, clinging to the arm even tighter. A second strike happened and then another loud crash of glass falling and shattering. No third strike came.

Edgeworth hesitantly turned to to see the man behind him, a mixture of relief and devastation at the sight. The man was unconscious, Edgeworth's favorite porcelain teapot in pieces on his face. The silver haired man leaned over and tugged the cloth mask off of the fallen body. The face underneath was familiar, yet different. It took him far too long to realize it was the man from the alleyway just without a beard. He looked significantly younger without the facial hair.

His phone had fallen with the kettle, apparently, but survived the drop. He immediately called the police, though he hurried to check on his two animals as he did so. Pess was his first priority, bias making him move to the puppy who he'd raised for so long. She wasn't moving much, but her chest rose and fell with steady breathing. Wet and a little hurt, she appeared to just be knocked out by the vase.

Before he could check on the cat, however, Sissel rubbed his face against Edgeworth's leg, intent on making his presence known. Or, perhaps, checking on Edgeworth and Pess as well.

*

That all accumulated to his current situation where he was beginning to wonder if the little black cat he'd taken in was some kind of curse. If it was, the current situation was much more interesting than any curse he'd heard of. Because not a month after he'd brought Sissel home, he found himself staring at... well his own dead body.

Collapsed on his desk, the silver hair and red suit was unmistakable. His office seemed to still be in order, except for a fallen teacup and a little bit of spilled tea. Almost impassively, Edgeworth tried to figure out what exactly transpired to have him end up in such a state.

Except, his apathetic logic was tripped up by the sight of the three others in the room, all openly crying as one tried to call for an emergency. Phoenix and Maya were before his desk, the former resting a hand on the latter's back as she knelt and bawled openly. Trying to remain strong, Wright stood there, wide eyed as he stared at the body before him, tears staining his face.

Gumshoe was loudly yelling at his phone, stuttering through sobs as he tried to explain to the police what was going on. A discarded parcel was at his feet, the fabric pattern familiar with tiny rocks shaped like nines decorated over it. Miles' name was on the package.

His stomach dropped and his emotionless response crumbled in the face of the three grieving individuals. Tears started to form on his ghost self as he desperately reached out to try and tell the others to just walk away, step away, he wasn't worth all this pain. Instead, his hand went through their bodies and his thoughts remained unheard.

"You're awake this time. That'll make things so much easier." A deep voice shook Edgeworth from his thoughts and the prosecutor turned sharply to the corner that he heard it from. Sissel's yellow eyes glowed from the chess board before the cat jumped off of it and onto the sofa against the wall. As if ignorant to the despair in the room, the cat curled up and seemed to drift off to sleep.

Instead of that being the end of it, however, a blue flame seemed to leave the body of the cat taking the form of it in a slightly transparent form.

"Sissel?" Edgeworth yelped, startled. Sissel shrugged, a cat's grin spreading on his face.

"That is my name, yes. It's a pleasure to finally be able to exchange pleasantries, Miles Edgeworth. Now, if you want to stop your death, I think I'll need your help this time."


	2. Chapter 2

If Sissel was being honest with himself, he had low hopes of finding his family again. Detective Jowd and Kamila were wonderful people and he had been looking forward to the vacation they were planning, but he had to agree with Alma when she claimed airport staff were the worst. First he'd ended up somehow in Seattle, then the attempt to send him home landed him somewhere in California. The latest trip had him fumbling out of the truck that was driving to the next airport and landing in the middle of the street, a fall that would have killed any normal cat. He hoped that whoever was in charge of all of this and the driver were fired.

So he had to figure out a way to the airport or a way home. The best way to do that was to ask for help, but his ability to communicate with the human populace was beyond limited. After spending an hour wandering, he decided to recuperate and concentrate on his next action, hiding inside an overly stuffed trashcan full of inedible food. Even his stray self wouldn't have partaken in the slop that sat at his feet. He'd need a new place to think.

As he prepared to jump out, however, a gunshot went off. Several in fact. He peered out of the trashcan to look around the area only to see a stuffy looking man in red fall over, dead. His dog, desperate to protect him, suffered a fatal injury as well before two unlikely allies dashed down the street to get away. 

Not ten minutes later, a detective showed up, apparently called in because of the sounds of guns. When he saw the fallen man with his dog, however, all intentions of investigating vanished and the large man started bawling. "Mr. Edgeworth!" he yelled, grief striking him in a sure sign of familiarity. 

Sissel watched from his trash can viewpoint and then back at the alley where the other man had fallen. _Well there's a sure fire way to kill two birds with one cat_ he mused. He dropped his body back into the metal can to hide it as he let his spirit drift out.

Admittedly he was hesitant to perform the next step. When he first awoke to his gift, he'd used it however he wanted, running straight for his goal blindly in a determination to realize simply who he was. Thankfully everyone he saved was a good person, but working with his owner--Detective Jowd--had proven more than anything that saving people wasn't always the right decision. He'd significantly reduced any attempts of reversing time, to the point that this would be his first in almost five years.

The world around him dimmed slightly, just enough to let him know it worked. Not that Sissel doubted it. Over a decade in this body had granted him more power and control over his abilities. His soul drifted up to see the rest of the world, connecting himself to the top of the can. Three souls burned brightly, the blue flames hovering over their respective body. None seemed to be conscious--the flame state being one major proof.

He hopped from item to item until he approached the first spirit, the one in the alley. The man mumbled in his unconscious state but woke up pretty quickly, almost snapping at the beast before him as he realized he was dead.

"Why did they kill me? I had the money! The bastards!" the man hollered, reaching out spirit hands to grab the cat. Sissel jolted away, glaring at the spirit with zero enthusiasm. The man continued to rant and rave. Well, that wasn't going to get him any information. Next target.

The other two spirits were close enough that he tried to talk to both at the same time. The first remained unconscious, belonging to the red man. The other, unsurprisingly, was awake in no time at all. Animals had always been more ready to accept their fate than man.

The large brown and white mutt bounced to consciousness with sheer enthusiasm, a happy dog that clearly was well loved and well trained. It's happiness immediately dropped when she noticed her owner on the ground. "No! Miles!" she whimpered, her voice striking a familiar sad note from another pet Sissel once dealt with.

He rested a black paw on her body, patting her in comfort before clearing his throat. "Miss Dog? I may have a way to save you both."

The dog whipped her face around to look at the cat. "You do? Do it!" she barked, leaning over to lick the ghost feline enthusiastically. Sissel ducked his head, letting the tongue brush his fur a couple times before he dodged to the side and gently pushed her head away.

"I do, but I'm going to need you to pay attention as well. Give me a bit of information, and in return I need your help getting home."

"Home! I can get you home! What do you need to know?"

"Well, for starters, what can you tell me about the situation. I only caught the tail end of it all." Sissel gestured to the three bodies. The man in the alley had calmed down a bit as well, but before the cat spirit could make his way over, the dog growled.

"He's not a good man! I heard him talking about bad things."

"What kind of bad things?" Sissel asked, flicking his ear back.

"The kinds of bad things that makes Miles upset. Things that kill people." The dog growled louder, drawing the attention of the other spirit.

_Well he certainly got acquainted with things that kill._ Sissel purred idly. The dog was incredibly intelligent, considering. The view animals had in a human world was often disjointed, resulting in them not entirely understanding the situation--such as headbutting doors until they opened--but this creature had come up with a bridge between them. It was a rare enough perspective that Sissel couldn't help but appreciate it.

"Tell me more," Sissel asked with a flick of his tail.

The dog tilted her head to the side, arching an ear up. "We were on our daily walk when I heard some people say 'The evening approaches'. This didn't make sense, because I'm petty sure evening involves the sun setting, so I got curious but the rest of their conversation wasn't related to the evening. They started saying stuff about bringing the goods, the money, and making sure it was the right stuff." The animal glanced towards the spirit who was pacing around his own body. "I remember him saying 'you're sure this'll leave no trace?' and the others saying 'yes, they'll be dead and no one will have any idea what it was that killed your target.'" She snorted. "Miles would figure it out, though. He always figures it out. That's what Nick and Maya say."

_Jowd could too, I bet._ Sissel trotted away from the dog with a quick "just one moment." He stepped next to the other spirit who shot a glare at him.

"What, you here to take me to the underworld? Are you Death? Well, I won't go without a fight! I won't go down until I get my revenge!"

"You can," Sissel offered. "But first I need to know what you know. What were you meeting about?" The man hesitated and Sissel nudged him. "What have you to lose? You're already dead."

"Yeah, and that's why I wonder what you, Mr. Cheshire, could do about my situation." He narrowed his eyes at the feline. Greed and anger radiated from him. Sissel scanned down to the body, discarded before the transaction was completed. He was disposable, unnecessary and just a means to fund the murderers on their task. His own task was separate, a desire to kill someone without getting caught--or worse, framing someone else. He was motivated by his own selfish desires, if Sissel was right. Which meant if he knew what Sissel could do...

"Nothing. I guess. Sorry to bother you." He jumped away, his soul quickly skittering away from the man as he returned to his animal partner. At the inquiring look she gave him, Sissel shrugged. "He had nothing of value to add. But I will do what I can to help you at least." He bobbed his head. "I'm Sissel by the way."

The dog licked his head, tail speeding up in happiness. "Good! Let's help Miles. I'm Pess!"

_Let's get started then._ Sissel thought, gathering up the energy to turn back time, to four minutes before Miles and Pess died, to the slim space of time that he could save the two.

As the world warped around him, however, he saw a brief glimpse of two people coming around the corner. One of them, a blur of purple and black at this point, seemed to look right at him and Pess before vanishing into the folds of time.

*

"Well this is convenient," Sissel thought as he looked at the situation. He was on the glass bottles above the trashcan again. Immediately he could see the two men who had escaped standing in the alley and the other approaching. Miles and Pess weren't far behind.

"Hey, that's me!" Pess barked.

"Yes. We went back in time to before you died. It'll give us a chance to change the fut--wait Pess!" Too late. Pess had bounced off for her living self, barking at her and trying to warn her of the danger. He sighed dramatically, torn between getting more information or retaining the help the dog might provide. 

"Pess!" Sissel repeated, bouncing from object to object until he caught up to the dog. "You can't talk to yourself. You can't really do anything to the real world."

Pess frowned, looking back and uncontrolled, oddly, by the need to possess objects to travel. "What do you mean? What could we do then?" She continued to nudge her living self.

Sissel flicked his tail, nudging his head back. "I can manipulate objects, so if we think about things carefully I can--" A yip cut him off, from the living Pess as the spirit one nipped her. Miles knelt down and soothed the living Pess without halting much in his progress.

Sissel's eyes widened and then he quickly glanced back to the trashcan. A quick estimate to where the dead bodies had been brought a whole new realization to him. Pess had died within range of the shard in his body. So had, in fact, Miles, but without the other spirit that hardly mattered. That meant powers. The question was what kind of powers and how could he use it?

Their time was limited, though he could always reverse time again. Getting as much information each loop as possible was essential as sometimes things he changed stuck and it was hard to reverse.

"Pess, how did you do that?" Sissel asked.

"Do what?" Pess trotted back and forth, through the living Miles and Pess.

"Did you just bite yourself?"

"Seems like it, but you said I couldn't?"

"Forget that. There may be an exception. How'd you do it?"

"I don't know. I just thought I wanted to get my attention, so I bit me and I reacted."

"Can you do the same with Miles?"

"No. I'm not allowed to bite Miles."

Sissel sighed heavily and then rolled his eyes. "Even if it'll save his life?"

"No biting Miles," Pess insisted.

"Okay, fine, we'll work with that. Let's see what else you can do. Follow me." He darted along from a street sign to a rock to a loose brick and then back to he bottles, eyeing the dog's freedom with jealousy as he returned to his body. "Bite me." He gestured to the cat inside.

Confused, Pess slipped inside and obliged. Immediately the other Sissel yelped in the trashcan and looked around for the source. Pess tried to apologize, but his past self couldn't see the traveling spirits. Instead, Sissel tugged the dog along to the next target.

"Bite one of the men now." Already time was running out, he noticed as they arrived. One of the men, the well dressed one, had pulled out a gun and things were going to go south quickly. Pess, thankfully, wasted no time jumping in and nipping the one with the gun in shoulder. He flinched, the shot going wild.

"What was that?" his partner hissed as their customer started to run. "Oh no you don't." He charged for the man, tackling him into the street and snapping back at his partner. "You idiot!"

The blonde man with the gun glanced about, slapping his shoulder and mumbling about a bee before hurrying after his friend, gun in hand. Sissel and Pess hurried out as well, worry filling the cat at the realization the fight reached the street. Miles and living Pess had stopped in the street at the sight of the tackle and the moment the blonde stepped out, gun in hand, the red suited man turned to run.

Not quick enough. A gun shot fired and he fell over, effectively pinning the trapped Pess. Ghost Pess started whining as she darted over to check on her master. More gun shots fired but Sissel's attention was on anything but that line of events. First loop failed. Time to try again.

*

This time, Sissel immediately reined in the worried Pess. She whined about wanting to save Miles and the cat had to show her the living Miles to get her to join him back in the alley. "You'll save him this time, right?" she asked, ears flattened. "I don't want to see him die again, Sissel."

Sissel studied the dog, sad brown eyes in a fluffy sad brown body, and sighed. "Yes. I'll stop it this time. No distractions." He stretched his lithe body and then hopped back to the trashcan, considering what he could do. The first two things that caught his attention were the trashcan and a loose sign hanging up. Testing the tin item, Sissel noticed it wiggle satisfactorily before testing the sign, which loosened dangerously with his antics. Good. Now what to do next.

The first gun shot sounded and Miles and Pess were at the entrance. Sissel shivered. If he had any intention of saving the other man, he likely lost it. But he needed to get Miles out of the way. He darted over, locking onto the leash that connected the dog to her owner.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as the men in the alley noticed Miles and Miles realized the situation he was in. Sissel tried to figure out how to get Miles to run--if only Pess would bite him!-- but floundered as he fidgeted with the leash.

The living Pess was freed from the leash, but didn't move. Sissel glanced down at the dog and then the leash. "Pess! Bite yourself!" he said, vaguely realizing the inanity of his statement. Thankfully the spirit dog was quick to react again, biting the living canine and making her jolt down the street.

Unfortunately, Miles didn't run after her like he planned. Instead, the man seemed to be contemplating just moving out of the way, as if hiding would help. Meowing in frustration, Sissel flung the leash, which began to wrap itself around Miles' legs with his hand as the pivotal point. The red suited man promptly fell with a cry of surprise, falling next to the chained up trash. 

The men in the alley were rushing out, intent to remove all eye witnesses. "Bite one of those men, delay them," Sissel called out, though he ran to the metal can without checking to see if his partner listened. He attempted to topple the container over, but the chain held steady in his rolling. Instead, bottles fell into the path, shattering before them. He turned around just in time to see the blonde killer slam his foot down harder in reaction to a bite than intended, resulting in a large glass shard spiking through his foot.

_Ouch._ Sissel winced in sympathy but didn't hesitate. He promised to prevent Pess from having to witness the tragedy of losing her loved one again, and damnit if he didn't sympathize with that more.

Jumping to the board he waited as Pess continued to delay the blonde man a bit until his partner shoved him out of the way. The sign obeyed Sissel better than the trash and clattered to the ground loudly. As the cat spirit fell with it, he spotted Miles, starting to stand up and make himself visible. _Bad human._

Moving back to the trash, he shoved it back into place, knocking over the man again and hiding him just as the two shooters stepped out, a nipping Pess in tow. As the men ran in the wrong direction--or right, depending on the perspective--Pess continued to bark at them angrily, daring them to come back.

Panting, she turned brightly back to the cat. "We did it!"

"We certainly did," Sissel agreed, though he looked back as he heard the voice of the man he just saved. "But we're not done yet. I have another trick up my sleeve, and I think we need to bring down these men."

Grabbing his dog partner, he jumped into the phone and made his way to the other end. If he was right, this was the man who had been distressed by Miles' dead body. The detective, meaning someone Sissel could work with confidently.

The two animals appeared on another street, the giant detective on the phone and confirming Miles' instructions. Sissel glanced around as Pess wagged her tail happily. "Oh! Detective! He's nice and gives me sausages whenever he shows up! Are we here to save him too?"

"No, we're here to stop the others. He survived the other time line. Warning, we have little time as we've already saved your life so this is our only shot."

Pess flashed him a puzzled look but nodded. Sissel gestured down the street. "Head that way and keep an eye out for either men, if we can find them we can chase them down."

The dog nodded and ran off, sniffing the air as she looked about. The detective shoved his phone in his pocket and began running as well. It was only a few moments before Pess returned, barking at the detective again. "There's blood! It smells like those bottles!"

"Good job, Pess! Bite his feet to get him to look down!" Sissel began to hop ahead to get an idea of what was going on as he heard the yelp and assumed the detective and dog were on their way.

Sure enough, ahead was the blonde man, limping as he hurried down the street, gun hidden. "Where did that bastard go?" he hissed, eyes wide with panic. Distressed and bleeding, most people took a wide berth to get out of his way, clearly worried he was insane.

That would help keep innocents out of the line of fire, at least. The feline jumped ahead to a cafe door and slammed it open when the blonde was in range. The would-be killer smacked into the glass, stumbling back with a glare. "Freaking glass! Is there some vendetta against me in the form of glass?" he snapped.

_Amusing, but no.It's a vendetta in the form of a guardian dog and your friendly neighborhood ghost cat,_ Sissel mused, purring as he shot a glance back at the Detective, who was following the blood and frustratingly _looking down._

The blonde stepped around the door but hesitated, contemplating going inside to rest. He looked down at his foot and then at the inviting cafe but shook his head, moving to an alleyway instead.

"No you don't," Sissel hissed darting over a few objects before he found the perfect one. Glass vendetta indeed, even if the glass itself wasn't the item that would thwart him. He toppled a stack of empty boxes in the alley, each stating "fragile" on the side as the blonde gasped in surprise, stumbling backwards and falling with his injured foot back into the street.

A towering Detective stepped over him, eyes wide before a delayed reaction had him pulling out his badge and shouting. "Freeze! This is the police!"

*

The best part of Sissel's rocky day had to be when he curled up in the large house of Miles Edgeworth, with a giant, warm, and furry friend wrapped around him. Exhausted from the work, he decided he'd worry later about the phone issue.

He was worried about his own family, true, but they were probably safer than he was right now. Besides, he couldn't really figure anything out until he could talk to someone, and Pess didn't count.

Instead, he had other things to think about. Like where the other killer went, what their objective was, and if he could even do anything about it. And then there was the mystery of the purple person. Did he imagine them? Or did they actually see him? Maybe he could communicate with them if they could see him.

It'd be a long trip home but he'd find a way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear God I am sorry for how long this took to come out. A mixture of busy working on a costume for a convention (who would've though foam body armor would be so hard to make) and a bad case of writer's block held me up on all of my writing. 
> 
> But thank you to everyone who has stuck with me, to everyone who has left kudos and comments. They drove me to finish this. In sometimes short jaunts, but I made it through! One more chapter to go, and it should be much easier since I don't have to constantly re-read the first chapter to make sure the ending scene aligns. (Plus, it's the one I've known how it would go since I wrote this originally)

Sissel managed to gain a wealth of knowledge during his first few days in the Edgeworth Abode. The first was that the owner of the place was a prosecutor, which explained his familiarity with the detective who was apparently named Gumshoe. Miles was also a workaholic, going out early and coming home late even when he had no trial on his lap. He still set aside time to go out with Pess--and Sissel by tagalong-- most days, though the dog sitter also spent much time with the dog outside. Sissel stuck with Pess as well for now, talking with her to know more about where they were and what could be done about getting him home. Pess herself could do nothing but she was sympathetic to his situation, whining about the poor cat who lost his family.

"If I could talk to Miles, that'd make things much easier." Sissel stated as he curled up on the couch. Miles had taken up the chair with Pess laying on his feet, both enjoying the red suited man's day off.

"Oh? Can you do that? How? Can you teach me?" Pess wagged her tail, delighted at the idea of no doubt drowning Miles in love vocally. She already did that with barks and licks, after all.

"Unfortunately, I can't teach you. It has a lot to do with what I did earlier, when we met." Sissel tucked his feet under him, studying the brown ball of love. "And I don't think you'd appreciate how it'd come about to have me talk to him. As it similarly would involve my abilities to talk to the dead."

Pess shot to her feet, growling. "No! I refuse! Find someone else!"

"Calm down, Pess. I have no intention of killing _anyone_ , much less the nice man who took me in and his friendly dog. I don't use people's lives as tools." Sissel remained still, though he had hunched down in case Pess didn't accept his response.

Miles, for his part, was trying to soothe her, petting and trying to locate the source of her distress. When the mutt plopped back down on his feet, rolling into him slightly, he seemed content to return to his book.

"Really?" Pess asked, not denying him just wanting clarification.

"Really. That being said, if anything happens, I will be around to help. And not just because it'll be another chance to talk to him."

"But won't that be difficult? Talking to him while saving his life?"

"The connection remains open. Or, well it's complicated." Sissel closed his eyes, thinking of another time and another adventure. It had been the longest night of his life, but in many ways the beginning of his current one.

Conversation continued idly, Pess asking about his family with interest and boundless energy matched only by the other pup in Sissel's life. Early afternoon, all three were startled out of their comfortable reverie by insistent knocking, to some invisible song judging by the rhythmic beats that repeated until Edgeworth managed to untangle himself from Pess and open the door. Sissel slipped away to spy on the newcomers from around the corner.

The people at the door stepped inside, seeming to ignore Edgeworth's wishes as they brought in wine and a video. Even though the silver hair man blustered at their intrusion, his posture was relaxed and the arguments felt more rote than sincere. These two were friends with the reclusive prosecutor. Amused, Sissel slid over to another hiding place, lurking under the couch with his eyes glittering as the guests began to set up a DVD.

One of them was a man about Edgewoth's age, clad in blue pants and a faded t-shirt with a cracked image of some mechanical monkey. He seemed to be a bit of a pushover by the way the other was bossing him around, but incredibly easygoing as he laughed off most of the young lady's orders.

The other was a young woman in strange purple robes she wore more comfortably than anyone in a costume would. Almost instantly he felt a connection, a draw to her as if she held a more significant role in this world than her small, childish presence would typically portray. She bossed around both the man, who she called Nick, and Edgeworth despite being much younger than either of them.

Her instructions were simple, fortunately, and quickly Nick and the woman were watching a strange show while their host cooked. Sissel snorted, crawling out from under the couch to rejoin Pess and Edgeworth in the kitchen. Hopping up on a stool, Sissel flicked an ear back towards the two guests. "Interesting people."

"Mr. Nick and Miss Maya! They're Miles' friends! They like to show up and bother him, but he likes it! He's been much happier since they met!" Pess announced without taking her pleading eyes off of her owner, committed in her mission to get scraps. Sissel chuckled, his purr vibrating through his body.

"I can tell. What's with... What'd you call her? Miss Maya? Her outfit is interesting."

"Yeah! I forget why, but I think it has to do with her home? Never not seen her in it, but it's nice and warm and fun to curl up in!" Pess wagged her tail excitedly.

Sissel shook his head slowly, content to watch Edgeworth while idly listening to the chatter in the other room. A bit later, Maya slipped in again to complain about how long the food was taking. Partway through the conversation, however, she spotted Sissel and immediately swept him into her arms. Used to the treatment, as most people seemed to think cats were meant to be picked up at a whim, Sissel just sighed and curled into the hold to be a bit more comfortable. "Well then, Sissie, you want to watch the Pink Princess with us?" she asked as she carried him out of the room.

Once in the next room, she thrusted Sissel out to Mr. Nick. "Look! Edgeworth got a new cat!"  
Sissel was quite sure that Edgeworth had explained he wasn't Sissel's owner, but that didn't seem to matter to his current captor.

"A cat? He didn't seem the type." Nick reached a hand up, scratching behind Sissel's ear. Despite himself, Sissel leaned into it. "Set him down, Maya. You're not supposed to carry cats like that."

Maya harumphed and stuck her tongue out at the spiky haired man before plopping herself onto the couch and then sliding off comically. Once on the floor, she pinned Sissel in her lap, petting him enthusiastically and explaining the show to him as if he had an interest.

"The connection I felt must've been a warning," Sissel whined as he attempted to escape every so often, jolting ineffectively into the air and being dragged back. He gave up, slumping into her hold as he studying the wall ahead of him.

Sweet freedom came when Edgeworth joined the group in the living room, Sissel dashing away from Maya onto the back of the couch the moment she was distracted by the smell of food. He flicked his tail angrily for a few seconds before sighing and relaxing into contentment. The group bantered as Sissel watched them. Maya was already digging into her food with voracity. Partway, however, she seemed to remember him and looked up into his eyes. 

"Oh no," Sissel said before darting off the couch. Cat body met human leg, however and he found himself hunching down as a large body tilted towards him and then onto the couch. Instead of groans of pain or worse, fortunately, laughter erupted. Sissel looked back to find the humans tangled together from Sissel's accidental trap.

Forgotten, Sissel slipped away for the rest of the evening.

*

The sound of scratching at the front door woke Sissel up from the couch one night. He jolted his head up, familiar with the jostling of someone picking a lock. "Intruder," he hissed before darting off the furniture and into the hallway to warn his roommates. He caught Edgeworth's door opening as a sleepy man and anxious dog walked out of the room. Catching the dog's eyes, Sissel nodded towards the entrance.

"I heard intruders," Pess growled.

"They're picking the lock. Pess," Sissel hesitated, talking a deep breath. "We need to make a quick plan. If the worst should happen and we need to repeat what happened when we met, I want a signal."

"A signal?"

"Your ability, to pinch others. We need to come up with a code. Something simple and quick."

"Like go forward!" Pess nodded, though her attention was only half there.

"Yes. Simple. Bite a front paw if you want us to hold back, a back paw if you want us to go forward quickly. Tail if forward but slowly." Sissel tilted his head. That'd be easy, right?

"Miles doesn't have a tail."

"He doesn't know the code. If we can tell him, we'll modify it then." The cat crouched down as Edgeworth did. Pess seemed satisfied with this explanation, lowering her own body as well.

"I'll go first," Sissel explained, jumping down and slinking along the dark corridor. Pess silently growled, soft eyes asking him to be safe as he went on his mission. He didn't make it far before he saw the invader, gun in his hand. They locked eyes, a brief flash of familiarity going through the cat until he was distracted by a leg going towards him. Jumping back, Sissel pinned himself to the wall and waited for the gun, now pointed at him, to fire.

Instead a brown blur launched itself in between them, taking a bullet to her side before she tackled the intruder. Pess growled, pinning her victim with ferocity that was completely different from her usual innocently gentle personality. "Do not touch my friend," the dog barked.

A fist came up from the man, slamming into the dog's wound and making her cry out in pain and crumpling down. He scrambled to his feet just in time to see a startled and scared Edgeworth arrive. Wide silver eyes took in his injured pet and he involuntarily let out a strangled cry for the dog before desperately grabbing a nearby vase and launching it at the intruder. Edgeworth charged the man after the vase, desperate but it was all in vain as another shot blasted into the air. Sissel yelped as Edgeworth fell, running forward as if he could help. The intruder callously turned his gun to the animals, cold emotion locking onto the animals before two more bangs sounded.

*

Sissel saw red, his body vibrating angrily as he watched the intruder leave, his ghost detached from the black form on the ground. He could easily just rejoin it, but he had no intention. Sissel always hated seeing strangers die, had been driven to help them even when he had no recollection of who he was--though he was also motivated by trying to find that out. Friends, especially friends like Pess if he was honest, dying was the worst. Maybe it was an abuse of his power, but there was no way he was going to let this stand. Not after Pess tried to save him.

The cat turned his attention to the floating spirits, one already taking form and whining. Pess bounded over, unbound by the need to possess objects. Still whimpering, she rubbed her head against the cat. "Sissel! They took you too! No." She howled loudly. "We need to fix this! We need to save you and Miles! You two can't die."

Sissel raised a paw to her muzzle, patting gently before pulling back. "It's fine, I can go back, remember?"

Dark eyes studied him, clouded with worry. "Even if you're dead?"

Now was probably not an appropriate time to explain he'd always been dead, just animating his corpse that was suspended in time. Instead, Sissel nodded. "Let's make sure all three of us make it through this."

Time twisted around them again, rewinding and bringing them along for the ride. Four minutes spun backwards, before stopping at the sound of the intruder opening the door. Sissel and Pess growled at the man momentarily before the dog ran off to check on her master. The cat stayed, watching as a specter, determined to find out as much as possible of their bad guy before they sprung into action. A mask slipped over the face, but Sissel focused on remembering it, a tickling in the back of his head that said the man was familiar, but different.

It was the man from when Sissel first met Edgeworth, the one who looked ragged and unkempt. Except, he clearly cleaned up. The muscle he hid under baggy clothes was much more defined in the tighter black clothes. The criminal moved with a certain grace that spoke of experience in home invasion, as well, even if he looked less than sure about himself. Or maybe it was something else that was distracting him. A whispered voice spoke from behind the mask, making the ghost cat have to lean forward to pick it up. "Made it in, as promised. Vengeance will be ours. Don't worry."

Who was he talking to? Sissel's tail flicked dangerously, considering the implications. Was it his old partner? Himself? Or a third entity?

The creak of a door startled both Sissel and the intruder, reminding the spirit that he had a job to do and a few lives to save. He bounced from object to object--a cellphone next to a teapot, a picture frame, the DVD Maya had left behind, a vase and so on--before he arrived at the hallway with the living (sort of) trio and their ghost guardian dog. The invisible canine wagged her tail excitedly.

"Sissel! You save our lives yet?"

"Working on it Pess, but I'll need your help." He glanced back towards the hallway again and then to his past self. The conversation that had taken place not long before was clearly bouncing between the two pets. "First hold me back, front paw. We need to stop me from going first."

"Got it!" The dog easily trotted over and nipped at past Sissel's foot, watching the cat jump slightly back in surprise before an amused grin flicked across his face.

It was almost surreal, realizing the Sissel before him understood some of the connotations going on while being unable to see it. Or could he? If he dislodged his own spirit now, while one from the future floated about, could they interact? Switch places? Sissel's ability to manipulate bodies had thus far been limited to himself--unlike Yomiel's which grew with time. Not that he minded, as manipulating objects had been more akin to his preferences. 

Sissel had spent too long in his thoughts, left Pess alone in trying to save her master for too long to stop her from acting hastily. He jumped in surprise as he saw the ghost dog nip her past self into launching ahead, having assumed if Sissel didn't go she would have to instead. The cat called out in futility as the dog dashed forward. He ran after her as quickly as possible, moving from the frame to the DVD and then stopping when he heard the gunshot ring out again and Pess fall over. Sissel moved closer, hopping onto the vase and hissed at the shooter who simply nudged aside the dog with one foot, more careful now that the shot guaranteed Edgeworth was awake and aware of an intruder.

"Miles, don't go!" Pess yelped from around the corner. Sissel paid no mind. He was going to make this criminal pay for killing the dog twice, and showing blatant disregard for the dead. Sissel knew he was going to reverse time again already, but he'd take the moment to get information and a bit of satisfaction first.

As Edgeworth turned the corner, crouched low, the shooter took aim and Sissel reacted immediately, toppling the vase he was connected to over, hoping to shake the man long enough for Edgeworth to get out of the way or take him down.

Except something changed. For a brief moment, the vase seemed to grow in size, from big enough to comfortably hold a dozen long stem roses to the size of an adult human. It slammed into the invader with far more force as a result, pinning him tot he ground before the shards shrunk down again to normal size. The incident happened so fast, Sissel almost didn't believe it, but a flicker of yellow eyes to the blue flame he'd left in the corner had him hesitate.

The flame had taken a slightly human form, still vague an unaware of who it was but also visibly angry and distraught, staring at the fallen canine. Sissel held his breath, waiting to see if Edgeworth's ghost would speak.

A torn voice snapped Sissel's attention back, however, to the other Edgeworth. Tears held back by anger were visible on the prosecutor's face as he knelt over the man, mask already discarded. "Why?" the man growled, his voice breaking over the single syllable. "Why did you do this?"

The man rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I have no reason to tell you anything, Prosecutor." He spat the word out like it was a curse. A snarl formed on his face, twisting into an inhuman smile. "But if I were you I'd watch my back." He flicked a glance to the porcelain shards around him, a slightly confused expression blinking into existence for a moment. It disappeared immediately, but Sissel could imagine what it meant. 'What is with all this glass protection?' Or something to that effect.

Sighing, the ghost moved to rejoin Pess who seemed satisfied that she'd saved Edgeworth and Sissel. The cat tapped his free-range partner. "Come on, let's go back again."

Pess flashed a shocked look at Sissel. "Why? Miles is safe. You're safe. We won!"

"But you're not." Sissel swished his tail in frustration. Pess tilted her head in confusion.

"And? I don't want to risk losing either of you just to save myself, Sissel." She drooped her ears and tail, slouching in defeat. "I'm okay with this. I don't need to be saved."

"Neither of us are okay with this, though," Sissel growled, gesturing to the living Edgeworth, still barely holding back his grieving, and then the vague Edgeworth-shaped ghost. "Not Edgeworth, not me. We are going back. We will save you as well, no matter how many times it takes."

Pess dipped her head again, looking at her master's two forms and the sad cat before she nodded. "Let's go then."

*

When they went back, Sissel was not surprised to see that some things had fundamentally changed. Messing with the timeline always caused oddities and sometimes his influence became permanent even when he went back again. Usually, it was for the best, but even if it wasn't he'd work around it. The shadowed image of a Pess ghost nipping at Sissel's feet, and then likely Pess' to direct them was evidently such a change. The feline specter nodded at Pess. "We will stick to you going forward, since that worked, but I'll come help too. When you hear a loud noise--any noise-- bite my feet to make me go forward. I'll be your backup."

"What are you going to do?"

"Stop you without stopping your results, hopefully." Sissel jumped ahead, taking the now familiar path of frame, DVD, vase, and waiting a few moments. He turned to the spirit in the corner, still only in the conceptual shape of a human, and prayed it'd help somehow. 

It was only moments later when Pess ran around the corner, all protectiveness and fury as she went to launch herself at the man steadying a gun at her. Sissel toppled the vase again, this time aiming for having it block the bullet by knocking the dog down for a moment. A pained noise from the spirit had Sissel widen his eyes as the vase seemed to change colors, darkening in the room to almost appear black. The noise of the bullet colliding sounded closer to metal than glass, but it lasted only a moment before the vase changed again, back to it's white-and-blue colors as Pess was struck down. Water and glass shattered around the canine, but she seemed to be alive.

Not that Sissel had any chance to check before his own form came dashing in with more bravery than Sissel really gave himself. The living cat vaulted onto the criminal's face and his spirit self purred in satisfaction. Bastard deserved every scratch.

Edgeworth reacted quickly this time, likely because Pess was still alive and action ongoing. While the invader was tossing aside the black furry weapon, the prosecutor managed to reach for the gun and bowl them both over in the process. A brief wrestling match ensued, where the unnamed assailant started to play dirty by throwing in punches. Surprise, surprise. 

Sissel jumped through objects before landing by the phone next to the teapot. How on earth was he going to do this? Experience told him that trying to interact with the teapot wouldn't do what it did with the vase and the phone wasn't much better, though he tried anyway. The phone vibrated under his power, even shaking the teapot but not enough to effect anything.

As he tried vibrating the phone again, however, once more the not-quite-Edgeworth ghost seemed to react, understanding instinctively what he could do and causing the phone to grow in size and thus vibrations. Both the teapot and the phone fell, the latter shrinking back to normal size during the drop. 

The sound of fighting ending and the sight of Edgeworth sitting up made the cat sigh in relief. He bounced through a few objects, his path altered by the amount of items he dropped, and spared an amused glance at the broken teapot--they did have a thing for breaking glass, didn't they?

"Did we do it?" Pess asked, bouncing about as Edgeworth hurriedly checked on Pess while the other Sissel sat up the also check on them.

"I believe so." Sissel nodded, though he still had his concerns.

Someone was after Edgeworth; someone was plotting to take down the prosecutor for reasons unknown. Did it start when they caught this man's partner or before that? Who was on the radio with this assailant? Who was the first dead guy's original target?

The only thing Sissel was sure of was that Edgeworth wasn't out of harms way yet. And he had to get to the bottom of this, save the man from whatever conspiracy aimed for his head. And, with luck, get home in the process.

*

Unfortunately, the next attack left Sissel in dire need of assistance. He'd begun following Edgeworth discreetly to work, sneaking into the car or his bag and using his powers to follow the prosecutor up to the twelfth floor--often arriving sooner than the red suited man since Sissel had no issues using elevator. Pess stayed at home, valiant guardian of the household.

It was a bit boring, curling up in a random hiding spot while listening to the almost methodical scratching of pens and shuffling of papers. Occasionally, Edgeworth would take a phone call, and at least once a day he'd go out, causing Sissel to resume his own trek down to the car before Edgeworth arrived. It quickly became a routine. A boring routine, but Sissel didn't want to take risks.

His patience was rewarded--in the grimmest of ways--when Edgeworth ended a phone call, before clearing his throat roughly. The noise sounded off, bringing Sissel's head up as he watched Edgeworth take a long drink of his tea. His skin color looked off, almost blue on his already pale face. Adjusting the ruffles on his neck, Edgeworth began to cough slightly. One last rueful glance at his tea was the last action he managed before he slumped over. And never rose again.

Sissel jumped onto the chess board nearby to get a better look, watching as a blue flame rose from the body, slowly shifting forms to a human one. By the time the spirit took on the appearance of his associated corpse, three people had arrived to confirm his death, all his friends and all distraught. Watching them, knowing what he meant to them and the dog at home that trusted Sissel to protect Miles... Sissel knew saving Edgeworth was the right action.

He turned to the other ghost in the room, seeing the pain painted plainly on the prosecutor's face. Good, Sissel wasn't sure if he could do this alone. "You're awake this time. That'll make things so much easier." Edgeworth turned to the cat as Sissel quickly made his body comfortable before vacating it. His choked off name had Sissel chuckling before nodding. "That is my name, yes. It's a pleasure to finally be able to exchange pleasantries, Miles Edgeworth. Now, if you want to stop your death, I think I'll need your help this time."


End file.
